Hurricane Earl heads for landfall in Belize

Image copyrightREUTERS

Image captionBelize City is experiencing the full force of the storm

Hurricane Earl is heading for landfall in the Caribbean nation of Belize, felling trees and power lines as it heads westwards, officials say.

About 400 people have been evacuated from Belize's northern islands as the country is battered by storm winds.

Heavy rains from the storm also fell on Honduras and led to hundreds of people taking cover on the Caribbean coast.

The US National Hurricane Center said Earl was blowing at speeds of up to 121km/h (75mph).

Residents of Belize City and other coastal communities are being urged by the authorities to move inland and take advantage of higher ground or a network of storm shelters.

Officials have ordered the closure of the city's international airport while archaeological reserves and national parks were also shut.

Image copyrightREUTERS

Image captionBelize is being hit by winds of up to 121km/h

Image copyrightREUTERS

Image captionPeople in Mexico are preparing for Earl to arrive

Image copyrightREUTERS

Image captionThe trajectory of the storm has taken it past Honduras

The storm is expected to lessen when it reaches the coast and moves inland.

But in the meantime Belize's National Emergency Management Organisation has warned that heavy rain could cause flash floods and mud slides, and create a storm surge along the shore.

Image captionEarl's position at midnight GMT on Wednesday

It has warned of trees being blown down, power cuts and damage to houses and buildings which will be hit by flying objects and projectiles.

Non-essential government workers were on Wednesday given time off work to secure their properties.

After the hurricane passes through across Belize it is expected to go through a northern rural part of Guatemala and from there into south-eastern Mexico.

Guatemala at this time of the year has its rainy season with often fatal flooding and mudslides.

Mexican authorities meanwhile say that the southern states of Campeche, Quintana Roo, Tabasco and Yucatan are likely to be affected by Earl and have issued an alert.

The storm knocked over a large numbers of trees and utility poles in Honduras, officials say.

At least nine people died on Monday in Haiti and the Dominican Republic as the storm passed over the Caribbean.

Hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones are all part of the same weather phenomenon but different names are used depending on where the storms are formed. Hurricanes form east of the International Date Line, while typhoons and cyclones form to the west.